Hay buncher



Aug. 17 1926. 1,596,813

- E. 5., DAY

HAY BUNCHER I Filed Oct. 1, 1924 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 K I MW AI IORNI INVENTOR Aug. 17 1926.

'E. 5. DAY

HAY BUNGHER Filed Oct, 11. 1924 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Aug.f17 1926. E. 5. DAY

HAY BUNCHER Filed Oct. 11. 1924 4 Shee ts-Sheet s INVENTOR E. 5. DAY

HAY BUNCHER Aug. 17 1926.

Filed Oct. 11. 1924 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Mum Patented Aug. 17, 1926.

UNi'ii'i. srarss TEN FFiQE.

, EDWIN s. DAY, or cAsr n DALE, UTAH.

HAY BUNCHER.

Application filed October 11, 1924. Serial No. 743,008.

an ordinary mowing machine for the purpose of receiving the hay as it is cut and causing it to collect within a hopper to define a bunch which may be discharged onto the ground at the will of the operator.

It is well known that when hay is cut by an ordinary mowing machine, the hay falls upon the ground and is trampled upon by the team and also by the mowing machine itself when driving about the field.

It becomes necessary naturally to use a horse rake for the purpose of raking the hay into windrows, which are subsequently formed into bunches located at spaced intervals throughout the field. These operations of course require the services of two or more operators and the work is more or less expensive in addition to the other disadvantages caused by the scarcity of labor.

Another point is that many farmers use very coarse fertilizer of different kinds and the larger pieces of such matter. will remain upon the field and are raked up along with the hay naturally causing great annoyance throughout the period that the hay is used for feeding purposes.

It is with the above facts in view that I have designed the present device which is adapted to be attached to a mowing machine and which will gather up the hay after it is cut and prevent itfrom falling upon the ground at all until it is formed into a bunch, which may be deposited at any place desired, the device consequently avoiding any necessity for raking the field and thus saving the cost of labor as well as time.

An important object is the provision ofa device of this character which is provided with manually controllable means for permitting the discharge of the completed bunch at any desired time, automatic means being provided for restoring the dumping means to initial position without further attention. Y

The invention further contemplates the general improvement of devices of this character in point of construction and arrange- .ment whereby the efficiency will be greatly improved.

An additional object is the provision of hay huneher winch will be conijgsaratively tion.

simple and inexpensive in manufacture, easy to install, positive in action, durable in service, and a general improvement in the art.

With the above and other objects and ad vantages in View, the invention consists in the details of construction to be hereinafter more fully described and claimed, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a plan view of the device show ing it associated with a mowing machine.

Figure 2 is a side elevation with the forward supporting frame bar shown insection. 7

Figure v3 is a cross section on the line 3-3 of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a detail sectional view showing the means for operating or releasing the holding means for the gate.

Figure 5 is a detail sectional view showing the transmission mechanism at the top of the. device.

Figure 6 is a section on the line 6-6 of Figure 5.

Figure 7 is a detail view of the cam.

Figure 8 is a detail perspective view 0 one of the gate holding members.

Figure 9 is an end elevation of the cam' and I Figure 10 is .a detail view of the control handle or lever.

whereby the device may be pulled along the ground. This machine further includes the usual cutter bar mechanism designated broadly at F and of any ordinary construc- The operating mechanism for this cutting mechanism is of the usual variety and may include a pitman G driven in any desired manner. The letter H designates the rotatable axle from which power is taken.

In carrying out my invention I provide a supporting frame structure designated broadly by the numeral 10 which frame may be of any desired specific construction deending upon the taste of the manufacturer.-

his frame is designed to be connected with mowing machine to trail behind it and the frame is supported by a plurality of ground engaging caster or other wheels indicated at 11. The frame includes for-'1' wardly extending portions12 and-13 con nected by a brace 14:. The frame further includes a bar member 15 which is secured no restriction in this respectbeing desired.

The 'forward members 12 of the main frame constitute the sides of a, conveyor structure and ournaled between the forward ends of thesemembers 12 is a shaft '17 carrying ,a roller 18 about which is trained an endless belt or apron 19 which extends up-x ward'ly and rearwardly in an inclined direction and which is further trained ftlbOUlr a roller 20 journal'edtransversely of the upper portion of the framelO. This roller 2O carries a spur gear 21 and a bevel gear 22 for a purpose to 'be described. Logicall-y; the roller '20 andgears 21 and 22 are all mounted upon a shaft23 suitably :journ'aled in the frame. apron or belt 19 has its forward end located immediately to the rear of the. cutter bar'F so that thehay cut by the, latter will fall upon the conveyor and be carried upwardly thereby. I

The rear portion of the main frame '10 is so constructed as to form a hopper-24 which has its bottom 25 inclined downwardly to one side andterminating'beyond the frameto define an extension shown at 26, \vhichis spaced slightly above the ground; The rear end ofthe fraineis closed: by a plate 27 and the lower outer corners of the hopper are formed with downward eXtensions 28 formed with slots 29 for a purpose to be described.

The hay received from the mower-will pass upwardly or be carried upwardly by: the apron 19 and will drop into thehopper or transversely of the upper p'ortiomotthe hopper which shaftserves as a'support for a plurality of downwardly extending fingers 31 arranged in spaced parallel relation and defininga gate for the open end of the hop per.' These fingers 31 have hub 13011510118 freely rotatable upon the shaft and they are connected by a cross bar 33 which holds them associated in theprop'er relation" so The conveyor defined by' the In order to hold the'hay.

that they. all may be moved in unison b'y the meansto be described.

The: means for normally holding this gate forined by the fingers 31 in its normal or closed position consists of a shaft 34 arranged in spaced relation corresponding to the spacing of the fingers 31 are upstanct in'g lugs, '35 which project upwardly beyond the lower'ends ofthe fingers 31 so as'to' en gage'thereagainst and hold the gate against outward swinging movement. I I

Secured upon'the ends ofthe shaft 30 are eccentrics] 36 encircled by eccentric straps 37 'carri-edby th'e'upp'er ends of a pair o1 dependingpitmans 38which have their the pitman 38 longitudinally andrai'se and lower the shaft 39 sothat thelugs thereon may be brought into or out of i obstructing relation with th'efllower ends ofthe fingers 31 forming thegate.

The" transmission"mechanism comprises a" sprocket lO mounted uponqthe axle H' ot the mowing m achine j so asjto be rotated whenevertlie mowing machine 'is iir op'eration; Trained about the sprocket 4L0 1s a cham'll whichiis' also trainedabout a sprocket 42' mounted on a short"- shaft 43 suitably. journaled in the forward positions 13 of the frame 10. The shaft43 carries' an additional. sprocket 44* about which is trained a chain 45" which extends rearwardly and whichis trainedabout'a sprocket 1-6 on p I a shaft 47 suitablyjouriialed at ,theforivard 47 carries an*additional sprocket 48 about which 'is" trained a chain 49 which extends upwardly and which is 'trai'nedabout a sprocket 50 mounted on a; shaft 51 which is roller of the'eiidless 5 belt or apron 19; v The" interposition of this gearing-is necessary in order that the apron 19'will travel in the properdirection.

assembly mounted upon the forward end meshing constantly with the above described bevel gea 22 w as to be driven 'thereb'yat alltimes; Thege'ar 53 is formed'with an 7 elongated hub memb'en54' h'aving a clutch face 551 Splinedupon the forward end p'orvtion of the shaft 30 is a clutch device includ ing agrooved co'llar56"ha'ving-aclutch face thereon a'dapted to engagetl1e clutch t'ace 55 for the purpose of rotating the shaft30 when it desired to dose and which will be explained. The grooved clutch member 56 is formed with a cam groove 58 into which extends a pin 59 depending from a portion of the frame 10 as clearly shown in Figure 5. The purpose of this pin is to cause the clutch member 56 to slide longitudinally after it makes one rotation.

The control means for this clutch mechanism comprises a rock shaft suitably journaled in the frame and having a crank arm 61 with which is pivotally connected the rear end of a rod 62 which extends forwardly and which is pivotally connected at 63 with an operating lever 64 pivoted at upon the frame in a position convenient to the driver occupying the seat D.

In the operation, it will be seen. that when the mowing machine is drawn along the ground, the sprocket 4O driving the chain 41 will cause rotation of the sprocket 42 and shaft 43 and consequently the sprocket 44 which will drive the chain 45. The movement of this chain causes rotation of the sprockets 46 and 48 so that the chain 49 engaged about the latter will operate to drive the sprocket 5-0 and gear 52. The gear 52 meshing with the gear 21 will cause the roller 20 to be rotated and as this roller engages the upper end of the endless apron 19 it is apparent that the latter will be moved upwardly and rearwardly as long as the mower is in motion. Hay falling from the cutter bar will drop upon the forward end of the apron 19 and be carried thereby upwardly so that the hay will drop from the apron into the hopper 24 where it will accumulate until the gate formed by the rod 21 is positively opened by the operator. It will be observed that owing to the fact that the bevel gear 22 meshes with the bevel gear 53 the latter will be driven at all times but as it is rotatable upon the shaft 30 the latter will not move until the operator shifts the lever 64 to throw the clutch into operation.

Ordinarily, it will be observed that the shaft 34 is in its uppermost position so that the lugs 35 thereon will project above the lower ends of the fingers 31 and prevent them from swinging outwardly, this normal position being clearly shown in Figure 3 0f the drawings.

When a sufficient quantity of hay has collected within the hopper 24 and the operator desires to discharge the bunch onto the ground, it is merely necessary that he grasp the lever 64 and swing it in the proper direction, whereupon the rod '62 connected with the crank 61 will rock the rock shaft 60, and as this shaft carries a fork 66 engaging within the grooved clutch member 56, it is evident that the clutch member 56 will be slid rearwardly so that the clutch face 57 thereon will engage the clutch face be rotated an'dthe eccentric 36 on the ends thereof will cause movement of the eccentric straps 37 and pitman 36 so that the latter will move the shaft 34 downwardly and i c i e r; o.) 'r 1 er 'a ement witwithdi awth lugs f on 1g g 4 l the lower ends of the fingers 31. There is nothing then to interfere with the outward swinging movement of the gate formed by these fingers and the weight of the hay resting upon the inclined bottom 25 of the hopper will cause this gate to swing outwardly so that the bunch of hay may slide off from the extension 26 and be deposited on the ground. Immediately the hay has passed through, the weight of the gate will cause it to return to its normal or depending position. After the clutch member 56 has been slid rearwardly as above described it is apparent that the engagement of the pin 59 within the cam groove 58 will cause the clutch member 56 to he slid forward automatically after it has made one complete revolution. By this means it is obvious that the clutching of the part is automatically disconnected so that by the time the gate has returned to its closed position the eccentric 36 of the shaft 30 will have moved the pitman 38 to such an extent that the shaft 34 carrying the lugs 35 will be returned to its normal or uppermost position so that the gate will again be held positively closed until the lever 64 is again operated by the driver.

From the foregoing description and a study of the drawings it will be apparent that I have thus provided a simply constructed, inexpensive and very easily operated and controlled hay benching device which will entirely avoid any necessity for raking up out hay and which therefore saves not only in time but in labor. Owing to the simplicity of the construction, and the comparative fewness of the parts it is evident that there is very little to get out of order so that the device should have a long life and satisfactorily perform all of its functions.

While I have shown and described the preferred embodiment of the invention, it should be understood that I reserve the right to make such changes in the form, construction and arrangement of parts as will not depart from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the subjoined claims.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is:

1. In a device of the character described, a hopper, a pivoted gate normally closing the hopper, a vertically slidable horizontally disposed shaft, means on said shaft normally engaging the gate for preventing the latter from moving, and manually controllable power operated means for releasing said holding means, comprising gearing, an op 2. In a device of the character described, a hopper, a pivoted gate'normallyclosing.

the hopper, averticallyslidahle horizontally disposed shaft, means on said shaft normally engaging the'gatefor preventing; thelatter from moving; and manually controllable power operated-means for releasing saidholding means, comprising gearingvan operativeconnection between saidgearing and said shaft for movingthe latter vertically, a manually operated clutch device interposed insaid gearing and cam meansassociated With said clutch device for restoring the same to initial position subsequent to operation;

In testimony whereof I afliX my signature.

EDWIN s. DAY. 

